ASA changes recruitment moratorium
The Association of Student Activities (ASA) has redefined its recruitment moratorium rules for this year into a single statement: “During the Moratorium, groups may not recruit.” This rule, the enforcement of which is described as a “holistic process,” is in effect until the end of the Activities Midway on Friday. In addition, no recruitment can take place during the Midway outside of the event itself.
One significant change from past rules regards communication with students who initiate contact with a group or provide a group with contact information, both of which were previously unrestricted. This year, groups may not contact students during the moratorium with previously-collected contact information. If a student contacts a group during the moratorium, the group can only tell the student to find out more about their group at the Midway. Student groups are prohibited from speaking about events occurring during or after the moratorium, though responses to “particularly excited” students can be cleared with the ASA.
Examples of other banned activities listed on the ASA website include “behavior that aims to enlist new members,” increased advertising, having a sign-up sheet at an event, and holding more “beginner-friendly” events than during the rest of the year. Regular periodic publicity “not motivated by recruiting the new students” may resume in most cases, though all decisions are at the ASA’s discretion. Recruitment rules apply to all students, new and returning, graduate and undergraduate. Questions and clarifications can be directed to asa-exec@mit.edu, and the full text of the rules with clarifications can be found at http://web.mit.edu/asa/rules/recruitment-rules.html.